Effect of Drum Priming with 24-Epibrassinolide on SEED Germination, Seedling Growth and Antioxidant Enzymes System of Bell Pepper SEEDS (Capsicum annuum L.).

Drum priming system is the most common type of seed priming for commercial treatment of seeds. The water supply is controlled by physical mechanisms, whereby the seeds are able to reach desired moisture content without the use of osmotic or solid solutions for hydration control. 24-epibrassinolide (24-EpiBL) is recognized to cause remarkable action on seed quality parameters such as germination, seedling growth and development, in addition the tolerance under adverse stress conditions. The aim of this study was to verify the viability of seed priming with 24-EpiBL using a commercial equipment of drum priming. Three seeds lots of bell pepper with different physiological potentials were tested. Seed performance was evaluated by evaluations of germination potential, initial seedling growth and changes on the antioxidant activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POX), from primed seeds with 24-EpiBL, primed seeds by use only water (traditional procedure) and unprimed seeds. Seed Vigor Imaging System - SVIS®  software was used to assess the initial seedling growth. The technique of nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) was used to evaluate possible changes in the enzymatic antioxidant system. A variety of beneficial effects were verified from the combination of drum priming with 24-EpiBL. The germination time was reduced followed by a seedling growth increase. Concomitantly, the enzymatic activity has also been improved, however, showed different intensity of response for each enzyme.